


Paint Splatters and Ink Blots

by anotherlifelessnerd



Category: Band of Brothers
Genre: Band Of Brothers - Freeform, College, Everyone seems to be gay, Fluff, Gay, HBO War - Freeform, LGBT, M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-03-26
Updated: 2020-04-06
Packaged: 2021-03-01 02:34:32
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 8,885
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23327833
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/anotherlifelessnerd/pseuds/anotherlifelessnerd
Summary: David Webster is your stereotypical English major, running on three cups of coffee (with maybe a Red Bull mixed in) and four and a half hours of sleep. And it's his senior year, the year his roommates have decided is when they're stepping up their game when it comes to their social and sex life. Not that David minds, he just has no intentions to do the same thing, at least not until a handsome art major comes knocking at his door, David's two best friends in tow.
Relationships: Joseph Liebgott/David Kenyon Webster
Comments: 20
Kudos: 31





	1. When Your Two Best Friends Are Wasted (Again)

_Senior year._ David Webster thought, hands wrapped firmly around his suitcases as he hauled them into his apartment. _Can’t believe it’s finally here. God._ It’d been three months since he’d been here, but it looked the exact same, though it was admittedly a lot cleaner than when he had left. He was leaning to set his huge cases on the ground when a face appeared, peering from the living room area. “Web! I thought that was you!” George Luz emerged fully, arms spread out to hug David.

David accepted the hug, not really being able to do anything given the fact his hands were a bit preoccupied, but he offered the short man a grin. “George, hey, good to see you. Mind helping me with these?” He lifted his arms the best he could, which only caused Luz to launch into a peal of laughter.

“Fuck no, bud. You’re on your own.”

“Bitch.” David grumbled, rolling his eyes in an affectionate manner. “I’ll be right back, then we can talk.” He headed down the cramped hallway to the bedroom he had called his own since Sophomore year. With a loud clunk, Webster dropped his luggage on the wooden floor, and without even bothering to look around, headed back out to where George was waiting for him.

“What the hell did you pack in there, David?” George said, dark brow rising. “That was loud as hell.”

David flipped his middle finger up at his roommate, grinning cheekily all the while. “Says you, Luz. You pack about five pounds of hair product, and that’s just the gel I’m counting.”

“Point taken. I still pack less than Lew, though.”

David chuckled, mind flicking to their third roommate, Lewis Nixon. He sure was a character, even compared to George and David, and that was saying something. “Okay, okay, true. Speaking of Nix, where the hell is he?”

George shrugged. "His shit’s here, he isn’t, though. Probably getting his brains fucked out of him. And if not that, he probably has a glass of whiskey in hand.”

“Or both.”

“Or both.” George repeated, laughing. “Why don’t we head in and sit down? Got a couple of beers in the fridge, if you’re interested.”

“Oh, god, yes, please. My parents house doesn’t have a drop of alcohol in it, and they still won’t let me change that.” David shook his head. “I’m twenty-two for God’s sake.”

George laughed and gave a quick nod towards the small room just off the kitchen. “Go, sit. I’ll get your beer for you.”

David gave his friend a grateful smile, gladly flopping on the couch in the apartment's modest living room. It had the same cracked and beaten faux-leather chair and the dingy, strange-smelling couch that Webster had spent countless hours splayed across. The only nice thing about it was the 32 inch television that had been unanimously agreed upon to be a necessity. When George came in, he handed David an opened beer and took the open chair, where he immediately took a huge swig of beer.

“So, how’ve you been, Luz? Still chasing after Joe Toye?”

“Nope.” Luz leaned back, face darkening. “He got a girlfriend, saw all the pictures on his Instagram.”

“Ah, shit, sorry, Luz.” David shook his head, pity heavy in his stomach. Luz had been chasing after this dude for three years now; as pathetic as it seemed, his dedication to Toye was actually rather sweet. 

“Don’t be. Pushed me to find a few flings of my own.” George’s familiar grin was back on his face. “You know Roe, the med student?”

“Yeah, of course I do. He’s the heartbreaker, isn’t he?”

“Backbreaker, too.” Luz added, smirking. “Let me tell you, that boy can fuck like no one’s business. Had to be the best hook up I’ve ever had.”

Webster’s eyes widened with surprise. “I mean, holy shit, good for you, but isn’t he straight?.”

“That’s what I thought. Turns out, with a little vodka and some alone time, though, he’s very into dudes. What about you, had any luck over the summer? Met anyone special?”

As per the usual, David shrugged. He hadn’t had a boyfriend since the start of Junior year, and he really wasn’t a one-night stand type of guy. “Yeah, no. Not that it matters anyways, I won’t have time for that shit this year, not if I want to get my degree.”

George shook his head in a mockingly disapproving manner, his lips pursing. “Jesus Christ, Web. You end up with the two biggest partiers on campus who probably have the highest body count here, and we still haven’t gotten you to be less of a prude.”

“Well someone has to take care of you when you come back hungover every other night.” Webster countered. This wasn’t an unusual discussion; in fact, this was a fairly regular talk, especially when alcohol was in the equation. “So unless you want to make your way to the toilet alone the next time you come home vomiting your guts up, I’d be careful what you say about me.”

Luz laughed and was probably going to respond when the apartment door opened and closed with an audible slam. Within a few seconds, Lewis Nixon appeared, a crisp dress shirt buttoned all the way up tucked into his jeans. For once, he didn’t look totally wasted, or like he’d just been fucked on a kitchen floor, a look quite unusual for the charismatic young man.

“Damn, Nix. No hickeys? No hangover? I expected more from you.” Luz said teasingly, clearly noticing how normal Lewis looked. Lewis just rolled his eyes in George’s direction, fumbling to unbutton the first few buttons on his shirt.

“My mom and dad insisted on taking me out to lunch.” He mumbled, scowling. “You know, the whole tearful last meal as they realize their baby boy is entering his final year of college.”

David laughed, understanding that full well. It had taken hours of begging and pleading to get them to let David drive up alone this year and not have their help moving in. “Makes sense. The only time you’re ever moral is around your parents. Do they still think you’re their perfect little angel?”

“They still think I’m a goddamn virgin.” Lewis approached the couch and sat next to David. “I’m tempted to just go to the store with them and buy a shit ton of condoms, just to see what they say.”

“For the sake of your parent’s sanity and well being, I am begging you to never do that.” David said, closing his eyes in an exasperated manner just as Luz let out a loud laugh.

“Do it, Nix.”

“Come on David, you can’t say you’ve never wanted to do that.” Lewis prodded David, and Webster _knew_ he had the biggest, snarkiest smirk slapped on his face right now. 

Webster let out a huff, opening his eyes to see that, sure enough, Lewis was grinning wide. “I can’t say I have, because I’m not a fucking weirdo, Lew.”

“Well at least Luz agrees with me on this.”

“No, I just want to see the total ass beating you’d get.” George took another gulp of beer. “Anyways. either of you planning on popping into Guarnere and Babe’s thing tonight?”

“I saw it mentioned on Instagram.” Nixon said, slumping back in his seat. “Not sure if I’ll go though. Do you know anyone else who’s going to be there?”

George gave Lewis an incredulous look. “Do you really think I know what everyone on this goddamn campus is doing?”

“I mean, you do spend way too much time on your phone.” David pointed out, lips curling into a small smile. “Wouldn’t surprise me.”

“Jesus Christ.” Luz crossed his arms and gave the two a look before finally relenting. “I think Winters is going to be there, Nix, and I do know Guarnere and Babe have a new roommate, so if you _really_ want to stay on top of- pun intended- fucking every person on campus, tonight might be worthwhile.” 

Nixon squinted, processing this information until his face split into a smirk. “Fuck yeah, I’m in. Web, you coming?”

Webster tilted his head, pretending to think about the notion for a while before he sighed. “You know what, I think I have other plans tonight.”

“Right, right, of course.” Nixon said, indulging Webster’s joke for a moment. “And what might that be?”

“Well, I’m planning on driving my two drunk best friends home and making sure they don’t vomit in my car.” Webster rose from the couch, stretching his legs. “But seriously, you two remember the rule-”

“-We puke, we pay. We know, David. You love your car.” George finished, voice monotonous. He’d been hearing this phrase since Freshman year, and Webster wasn’t about to stop now.

“Good, glad you remember.” David looked down at the beer in his hand and looked to Nixon. “Want to finish this?”

Nixon took Webster’s beer gladly, downing about half of what was left in an ungodly amount of time. David let out a low whistle, lips twitching amusedly. “Impressive.” He remarked. “Well, I’m going to go unpack. Let me know when you leave, you two, and text me when you need me to pick you up.”

Luz gave a thumbs up, and as David headed down the hallway, he heard the shorter man’s attempted at a hushed “Okay, mom”.

Webster paused and shouted back. “I heard that, smart ass!” Which, of course, prompted laughter from the living room. David smiled, allowing himself a few moments of stillness before he sorted out the mess that was his luggage, happy to be back with his two closest friends again.

• • •

David lay on his back, earbuds blasting music into his ears. He held his phone above his head, lazily scrolling through social media, but he paid little attention to the endless stream of posts. His attention was on the time at the corner of his screen, so small, yet so powerful. It was currently 3:02 in the morning, and he still hadn’t gotten a text from Luz or Nixon.

It wasn’t unusual for the two to be out late, but they rarely broke 2 AM without a text just saying they were alive, albeit wasted. But not a single text had come through, not one, to let David know his friends were okay. _15 minutes._ He promised himself, shifting his position on his bed for what seemed like the thousandth time. _If I don’t get word in fifteen minutes, I’m going to go and look for them._

Those fifteen minutes trickled by impossibly slow, as if they were teasing Webster. Just when the six in the left corner of his screen transformed into a seven, though, a hand pounded on David’s door.

All the grim possibilities flooded David’s mind all at once as he tossed his phone aside and hurried to the door. _What if it’s the police and they’ve been arrested? Or someone telling me they got themselves into a horrible accident?_ Each what if tore through the man, and as the piled up, each possibility became worse than the last. But when Webster flung the door open, the person standing there was not a police officer but a lanky man with greasy brown hair who was trying his very best to support David’s two totally drunk roommates. “I think these two belong to you?”

“Fuck.” Was all Webster could say as he hooked his arm underneath Nixon. “Can you help me out here?”

“Like I haven’t done enough.” The stranger muttered, rolling his dark brown eyes. “Where’s the small one go?”

“First bedroom on the left.” David replied, already beginning to limp Lewis along to his room. Webster dumped Nixon his bed exasperatedly, mentally reminding himself he’d have to give these two hell tomorrow, before exiting Lewis’s room and entering Luz’s, where the stranger had just heaved the small man onto his bed.

“Thanks, man.” David said, leaning casually in the doorway, gaze dark as he stared at the passed out Luz. “Sorry about the two of them.”

The man just let out a cynical snort, focus also pinned to the sleeping figure. “Well you didn’t do anything, did you?” He looked over at Webster, eyes intense. Webster momentarily found himself drowning in the stranger’s eyes, in the heat of them, but he quickly snapped himself out of that line of thought, knowing full well that he didn’t want to go meandering down that road quite yet.

“True. I still feel the need to apologize on behalf of their inability to self-moderate.”

The man laughed and waved his hand. “Oh no, I found it amusing. Other than the part where I had to drive them home, their ability to hold their drink is really impressive.”

Webster frowned, juggling the unfamiliar face and what the man had just said. “You were at the party?” His voice was disbelieving; it wasn’t that he knew _everyone_ on campus, but he could at least recognize most of the faces. This guy, however, was entirely unfamiliar, and not someone David was likely to forget anyways.

“Yeah.” The man must have noticed David’s confusion because he continued. “I’m Babe and Guarnere’s new roommate, Joseph Liebgott. Just transferred.” 

Webster nodded, lips twitching somewhat as he remembered what Luz had said earlier that night. David had absolutely no doubt that Nixon had tried to get a piece of that ass now that he had put a face to the new person on campus. “Right, heard the two of them got a new roommate. You must be having a fantastic first day, having to drive my two blockhead friends home and all.”

“Tell me about it. I thought for sure those two were going to vomit all over my seats, but the one just kept muttering ‘You puke, you pay’, which is a fucking relief, because _if_ they had hurled, they _would_ be paying for the cleaning.” Joseph said, snorting quietly with amusement. 

David tried his best to smother the peal of laughter that bubbled out of him, but it was really no use. “Thank me for that.” He said, finally subduing his chuckling. “That’s my motto whenever I have to bring them home from a night of drinking.”

“Well then, thank you...” 

“David. David Webster.” He supplied.

“Thanks David. Glad to meet someone who cares about their car as much as I do.”

“Well, I’m an English major. I have to accept that it is highly likely I’ll end up living in my car at some point, might as well keep it as nice as possible.” Liebgott laughed, and David couldn’t fight the smile that followed Joseph’s reaction.

“I’m an art major, so I’m in the same boat as you.”

“Art major, huh?” David raised an eyebrow. It wasn’t often he met art majors around here, not that the college didn’t have a good art program, they were just few and far between. “Well I wish you the best of luck here, the rest of your days can only get better, huh?”

Joseph tipped his head in agreement, the left side of his mouth pulled into a small smirk. “Yeah, I suppose so. It was nice meeting you, David, but I had better get going.”

“Oh, yeah, of course. You’re going to need to get sleep when you can, Heffron and Guarnere have the craziest parties, you’re going to be losing a lot of sleep.” Webster said, moving aside so Joseph could get through.

Joe shrugged, eyes rolling into his head, a clear ‘What can you do about it’ look to him. “Yeah, well, only apartment I could find.” Liebgott slid by Webster, but hesitated just before he had passed him completely. Flames licked through David, the close proximity to this admittedly attractive man almost unbearable. “Do you think you’ll ever show up at a party?”

“I, uh-” David hesitated, drawing in a deep breath as he pressed himself against the wall ever so slightly, praying Joe wouldn’t notice the bulge in his pants. “-Well, maybe. Its my senior year, so it's really up in the air.”

“Ah. Well, I hope I see you there, David. You seem cool.” And just like that, Joseph was out the door again, leaving the sweet scent of his cologne haunting David’s senses.

_Well. Fuck._ David thought, pushing from the wall and heading back to his room in a daze, mind reeling through the events of this evening, unable to rip his mind from the art major who had come hurdling into his life with Webster’s two roommates hanging limply from his shoulders. _Now I might actually have a reason to go to those dumb parties._


	2. Platonically Asking a Hot Guy to Lunch

It was Monday morning, and that meant the first day of class, the one thing Webster had been dreading all weekend. He’d packed in as much sleep as he could possibly muster, knowing full well the start of school meant he’d be running more on caffeine and sugar than genuine rest. It had been established the morning after the party that David was the only one with a morning class, which was admittedly, something he was grateful for. At least he got a peaceful breakfast; if you could call a piece of plain toast and 32 ounces of coffee breakfast, that was.

At eight thirty, he was out of the apartment, the rest of his coffee clutched close to him in a travel mug. He made his way down the sidewalks of the campus, other students with backpacks and coffee trailing along on all sides of him. It was nice enough, making the walk to his class not entirely unpleasant, even though Webster was very much  _ not  _ a morning person.

Getting to class, however, was very unpleasant, mostly because of how much David was very much not looking forward to the class. The subject material seemed interesting enough, 20th Century Literature, but the professor was infamous. Professor Dike, a name spread around campus enough by his students that Webster felt as if he had been taught by the professor before. Word on the street was Dike was just about the most useless professor to come through the college, he was vague, not helpful, and didn’t even seem to know what the hell he was talking about in the first place.

_ Guess we’re about to see how true those rumors are.  _ Webster thought, setting his bag down and sliding into his seat. He set his coffee on his desk and whipped out his phone as he waited for class to start. People filed in, filling the desks around David. All the while, Webster didn’t bother looking up, until a voice interrupted his mindless scrolling.

“David?”

Webster looked up and towards the direction of the voice, where he was greeted by a rather surprised looking Joseph Liebgott. “Hey, Joseph.”

Joseph winced slightly. “Oh god, please don’t call me Joseph. You sound like my mom. Joe or Liebgott is fine.”

“Liebgott.” David tested it out once before smiling. There was something attractive about that name: Liebgott. “I like that. Liebgott. So what are you, an art major, doing in a 20th Century Literature class?”

“What, an art major can’t have a little class?” Liebgott replied, sliding into the seat next to David. “Nah, I just needed one credit more, and this was the first class that jumped out at me. So here I am.”

“Fair enough.” Webster set his phone down on his desk, eyes flickering to the clock above the door, noting that class would begin in a minute or so. “So how was your weekend? Hopefully a step up from dragging Nix and Luz home?”

Joe shrugged as he leaned back in his chair, arms folding over his chest. “Not bad, not bad. Just impossible to understand Guarnere with his fucking Philly accent. And he’s loud as fuck, but I’m used to that.”

“Yeah, it took us all a while to figure out what the hell he was saying.” Webster said with a smile. “It’ll get easier. But all bets are off when Bill’s drunk.”

“Believe me, I know.” Liebgott rolled his eyes. “And Babe, well, that kid can’t hold his drink. He got all weepy and mopey over some random dude at the end of the night.”

Webster snorted amusedly; another gay dude on campus. Were there any straights at this goddamn college? “He does seem like the type.” 

“Yeah.”

The two’s conversation came to a rather awkward end, and David figured reviving it would make the situation far more uncomfortable. His hand reached out to grab his phone, but just as he secured his grip on it, in walked who Webster could only assume was Professor Dike. The man looked hilarious and he had only just seen him. He had a round face and huge eyes, the type of face that probably had the most hysterical reactions when scared. 

“He looks like a fucking toad.” Liebgott whispered from beside Webster. David laughed quietly, and was aware of quite a few chuckles cropping up around the class, but Dike seemed entirely unaware of this, or he just didn’t care.

“Good morning class. I’m Norman Dike, and I’ll be your professor. I should be getting a syllabus out to you… in the foreseeable future.” 

David blinked in disbelief. “Did he just say… he’d get our syllabus to us  _ in the foreseeable future _ ?” Incredulity was heavy in his voice, and he had no doubt that his face showed every ounce of his surprise.

“Think so.” Liebgott muttered, though he looked entirely unaffected. “This seems like its going to be a shit class.”

And if the first day of class was any indication, Liebgott was right. The entire hour of class, Dike stumbled through a poorly planned introduction to the class, unable to really take any questions, and seeming wholly unprepared. Webster had had plenty of laid back professors in the past, but this wasn’t being chill, this was being a fucking idiot.

David wouldn’t say he enjoyed class, but he certainly had never been elated to get out of a class. However, when Dike finally let the class out, Webster was overjoyed. “Fuck.” He said, shaking his head as he stuffed his things back into his bag. He slung the book bag over his shoulder, face dark with distaste. “This was just about the biggest waste of time ever.”

“Tell me about it.” Liebgott seemed equally disgusted as he packed up and began moving towards the door. Webster followed after him, Joe speaking as they walked. “I mean, goddamn, who doesn’t have their syllabus on the first day of class? He didn’t even tell us when he’d get it to us. Just ‘in the foreseeable future.’ His class is going to fucking suck.”

“I mean, I heard rumors about him, but now I’m starting to think he might be worse than what I’ve heard.” Webster and Liebgott rounded a corner, the exit to the building looming before them. 

“At least he’s our first class of the day. We get it over with.” 

“Counterpoint: he’s a really shitty person to start your day off with. Now I’m going to have his fucking voice rattling around my head until my next class and have my bad attitude from his class with me all day.” Webster held the door open for Liebgott, his classmate giving him a small nod as he passed before stopping and waiting for Webster to catch up with him.

“Point taken.” Liebgott said with a smile, glancing around the sunny campus. David couldn’t help but keep his eyes on the skinny man, at the way his eyes narrowed ever so slightly as he looked around. Or how the sun turned his brown hair into bronze. The way his tongue would flick out and wet his lips every so often. He was so goddamn handsome, the type of guy Luz or Nixon would ask out in a heartbeat.

But Webster had never been so confident or straightforward, at least not in this particular aspect of life. So he was shocked to find himself parting his lips, to find words spill from his mouth. “Hey, Lieb, would you want to go out to lunch this afternoon? I know a few good places and could show you around, get you away from your roommates for a little.”

Liebgott turned his eyes on David, his deep brown eyes meeting Webster’s own gaze. He seemed to be calculating Webster, or maybe the offer, but either way, he was silent. Webster was positive Joe was about to shoot him down, and he almost just waved his hand and told Liebgott to forget about it. “Yeah.” Liebgott’s one word broke David’s worries in half, and Webster found himself grinning. “Yeah, I’d really like that, David.”

“Great. I’ll meet you right here at… eleven thirty?”

“Twelve works better for me.”

“Twelve it is.” Webster almost turned away, but a thought struck him. “Hey wait, Lieb. Can I have your number?”

Liebgott’s eyes widened ever so slightly, clearly taken aback by this request, but he conceded. “Sure.” He rattled off his phone number as Webster typed them into his contact list, repeating his number back to him just to be sure he had gotten every digit correct.

“Sounds right.” Liebgott said, smirking. “So I’ll see you later, David?”

“Sure thing, Liebgott.” Webster impulsively winked before turning away from Joe and beginning the trek to the location of his next class, heart pumping furiously in his chest. Strictly, what he and Liebgott were doing was  _ not  _ a date, and he continually reminded himself of that, but the prospect of eating out with the skinny brunette still kept a big, stupid smile on his face.

His second class of the day was hard to sit through, but somehow, Webster managed to keep himself firmly planted in his seat and his attention (mostly) on what the professor was saying. But the moment the professor told the class they were free, Webster was out the door faster than he had thought possible.

The English major found a bench just outside the building Liebgott and he had agreed to meet by. He had twenty minutes to kill, which wasn’t enough time for him to head back to his apartment, but it was enough time for Webster to get rather restless. His leg bounced as he sat, and he tried desperately to focus on what he had pulled up on his phone, but it was no use. David surrendered his attempts and simply slipped his phone back in his pockets, eyes grazing the landscape before him as he awaited the arrival of Joseph Liebgott.


	3. Becoming Friends in a Shady Sandwich Shop

David and Liebgott found one another at the same time. It was like a moment out of one of Luz’s cheesy rom-coms. The exact moment Joe had turned his head and spotted Webster, David had looked over towards him. Recognition flashed on both faces, and David grinned as he rose from the bench, meeting Liebgott half way. 

“Were you waiting long?” Liebgott was the first to speak, and he looked a bit guilty, but David dismissed it with a wave of his hand.

“Don’t worry about it. I got out of class a little earlier than I anticipated and didn’t have time to go back to my apartment.”

“Oh, I wasn’t worrying about it.” Liebgott smirked, “I came on time, it’s your own fault if you were sitting around.” 

David laughed and shook his head, beginning to walk down the street. “All right, I guess that says a lot about you.”

“Really? What’s it say about me?”

“That you’re a prick.” Webster shot a devilish smile to Liebgott, and the latter laughed loudly, his entire face lighting up. 

“Shit, you really are an English major.” Liebgott said, laughter finally tapering off. David raised an eyebrow in question, glancing over at Liebgott as the pair walked.

“All right, I’ll bite.” David said, “How am I an English major?”

Joe pursed his lips. “Well.” He began, “I mean, you use words that no self-respecting American would use. I mean who uses  _ prick _ ? This isn’t fucking England.”

“I think you mean this isn’t bloody England.”

Liebgott looked over at Webster, lips twitching as he fought a smile. “Honestly, how the fuck do your roommates stand you?”

“I’ll have you know, I am the most tolerable person in that apartment.” Webster and Liebgott crossed the street, the destination David had in mind just a few minutes away. “I mean, you’ve seen them both drunk, you should know this.”

“Yeah, but I’ve never seen  _ you  _ drunk, so I can’t make a fair comparison.”

David’s brow rose. “Is that your way of asking me to get drunk with you?”

“Or to see your friends sober. It's up for interpretation.” Liebgott tossed back, the corners of his mouth turned into a smirk. 

“I will keep that in mind, then.” David paused outside of a small shop and nodded at the door. “This is it.”

Liebgott’s eyes jumped from David to the admittedly cramped, rather dirty looking building. Webster could swear he saw skepticism in Joe’s eyes, and he was quick to reassure him. “Trust me, the food is a lot better than the appearance.”

“Better be.” Liebgott shot back, going to open the door for Webster. “I’m not trying to get food poisoning my first week here.”

David laughed, entering the shop with Joe close behind. It was fairly empty, a few students here and there, but otherwise it was just the couple of workers. Webster approached the dingy counter, eyes scanning over the menu above, before finally settling on a reuben. “Know what you want yet?”

“Yeah. I’m just going to have the grilled cheese sandwich.” 

“Anything to drink?”

“Well, all they serve is Pepsi drinks, so no.”

Webster’s eyes widened in mock offense. “Pepsi is delicious!”

“Oh god, you like Pepsi.” Liebgott’s nose wrinkled at David. “Geez, I’m not sure I want to be around you anymore.”

“You know, even though you said that, I’m still going to pay for your lunch.” David said, already pulling his wallet from his pocket. “That is, if you still want to be around me.”

Liebgott bit his lip, face scrunching in thought.  _ Fuck, I want to kiss those lips.  _ The notion came without warning, and David had to look away for a moment just to regain control of his conscience. 

“Well, I’m a broke college student, so I can’t say no to free food.” Liebgott finally concluded, bringing David’s mind back to the present. “So I guess I’ll have to eat lunch with a Pepsi lover.”

“If it makes you feel better, I won’t order a drink.”

“What a sacrifice. You’d do that for me?”

“Absolutely.” David replied, going up to the cashier. “I’ll have a reuben and a grilled cheese, please.”

The tired looking cashier tapped in a few numbers before looking up. “A’ight. That’ll be fourteen twenty.”

Webster forked over the cash and shoved a few extra dollars in the tip jar for good measure. “Thanks.”

“Yep.” He murmured, turning to give the order to the other worker behind him.

David led Joe to the nearest table, the two sliding into seats opposite one another. Liebgott instantly slid into a relaxed positions, legs set far apart, arms folded. “So, Lieb.” Webster said casually. “Tell me about yourself.”

Liebgott shrugged carelessly. “Well, what do you wanna know, David?”

“What you did before you came here, why you came here, hobbies… I don’t know.” Webster gestured towards the lanky man. “Whatever.”

Joe sniffed, silent for a moment as he considered Webster’s questions. “Well, I just didn’t like my old school, I guess. It’s program wasn’t the greatest and I should have transferred earlier, but I didn’t.” He rolled his neck casually. “Hobbies… I mean, I draw. I- uh-” Liebgott glanced at David, his eyes seeming to challenge Webster to laugh at what he was about to say. “-I collect vintage comics.”

David tilted his head, a smile expanding on his features. “Shit, that’s really cool.” And he meant it. That  _ was  _ cool. “Do you collect them from anytime or do you have specific years or something you like.”

Liebgott seemed to relax, the assertive dare in his eyes disappearing. “I collect them in general, but I like 1940s comics the most.” 

“Shit.” Webster said again, shaking his head. “Wouldn’t have pinned you for the type. But it fits you.”

“You think so?”

“Hell yeah.” David smirked. “Now you fit the tall, skinny awkward nerd look to you.”

“Webster, fuck off.” Liebgott said, but David didn’t miss the smile tugging at his lips. “So what about you, what do you do for fun, English major?”

“Bold assumption that I have  _ time  _ to have fun.” Webster deadpanned. “But if I  _ did,  _ I usually spend it sleeping or binge watching.”

Liebgott pulled his bottom lip under his teeth, suddenly grinning. “Wasn’t expecting that answer. I thought you were going to say reading or writing or some shit like that.”

Webster laughed, the action lighting up his face. “Oh, no. That’s all I do in class, I try to avoid it as much as possible outside of school, honestly, but if I stumble across a good book-” David shrugged, “-I’ll read it.”

“That’s fair.” The conversation seemed it had come to an end, having no obvious way to continue. Just as silence sank between the two, a waiter dropped two plates on the table and walked off again, not a word said. 

“Holy fuck, this looks good.” Liebgott remarked, pulling the plate close to himself and raising the sandwich up to his eyeline. He hesitated for a few moments before biting into it. He chewed, but once he swallowed, he looked surprised. “And it tastes even better.”

“No need to look so shocked. I told you I was going to show you some of the best spots around campus.” David smiled before biting into his own sandwich, the warm cheese and meat enveloping his senses. Webster savored his sandwich, but Liebgott did the exact opposite, all but inhaling the grilled cheese. 

“Jesus Christ, Joe.” Webster said around his sandwich, not even halfway done. “You scarfed that down.”

Liebgott scowled, a ghost of a pout on his lips. “Hey, leave me alone. I haven’t eaten all day.”

“Well that’s not healthy.”

“No shit, Sherlock.” Liebgott said with an eye roll before shrugging. “It left me plenty of room for lunch, though.”

“That it did.” Webster replied, smiling slightly. “Is that why you accepted my invitation? Because you were starving?”

“It was you or my roommates. You seemed to be the least obnoxious of the options.”

“My roommates would probably disagree with you there, but thank you.”

“Eh.” Liebgott said matter-of-factly. “They’re the ones who were in the back of my car drunk as hell. I’d say they aren’t really allowed to talk.”

“I mean, you did call me annoying earlier, but we can glaze over that fact.” Webster finished the rest of his Reuben and leaned back in his chair, comfortably full. “How bad were they, anyways?”

Joe laughed, shaking his head in an entertained manner. “Awful. The short one-”

“-Luz.” Webster interjected. “Just so you know. The short one’s Luz, the other’s Nixon. Or Lewis.”

“Right, thank you. Well, Luz, mainly mumbled incoherently, all I could pick up on was some guy named Toye. The  _ other  _ one though, Nixon? Huge fucking flirt. Kept trying to get in my pants, eventually he passed out though, so it was fine.”

Webster raised an eyebrow. “That’s not even the worst of them. They’re awful when they’re just a few drinks in. You can understand every word they say, and it gives them all sorts of confidence.”

“Must have built a pretty great tolerance for bullshit, though.”

David let out a short laugh. “Oh, no, not really. I still am remarkably easy to annoy.”

“Can’t say I’m surprised. I mean you do  _ look  _ like a preppy pretty boy.”

David felt his ears warm and his neck burned at Liebgott’s words. Webster insisted he not over analyze what Liebgott had said, but, shit, it was hard not to. “I’m going to try and take that as a compliment.” Webster said, tilting a brow. “Even if you did just say I look like a prissy white boy.”

“Well…” Liebgott drew out the word, a mischievous smirk on his lips. “I didn’t  _ say  _ that exactly.”

“You’re not denying that’s what you meant, either.”

“Got me there.” Liebgott said, tipping his head. 

David snorted in reply before casually checking his watch.  “Oh, fuck.” He muttered, face pinching into a glower. “I have class in twenty minutes.”

Liebgott checked the time on his phone and offered Webster a small shake of the head. “Damn, that’s rough. How far away is your class?”

“Ten, fifteen minutes.” Webster answered, standing and picking his bag from the ground. “It’s over by Wagner Hall.”

“No shit. I’m headed that way, my apartment is right near there. We can walk together.”

David glimpsed at Joe, startled, but then smiled. “And here I was under the impression you were just hanging around me for free food.”

“Shut up.” Liebgott grunted, but he, too, was grinning. “I’m just asking because it’d be weird to follow two feet behind you or some shit.”

“Right, okay.” Webster said. “Either way, sounds good. You ready to go?”

Liebgott rose slowly and dramatically stretched, even letting out a loud yawn, before snatching his own book bag up. He took his own sweet time before finally uttering a word. “Yeah, lets go.”

“For fucks sake.” Webster mumbled, the two exiting the run-down sandwich shop. “You’re really fucking extra, you know?”

A snarky grin crossed Liebgott’s face.“I know.”


	4. Actually Making Weekend Plans (Gone Wrong)

“You didn’t eat lunch at the apartment.”

Those were the first words out of George Luz’s mouth, and even though David Webster was in an unusually good mood today, the sigh and eye roll he let out were just as exasperated as ever. “No, I didn’t.” He said, dropping his bag on the kitchen floor and pulling out the seat across from George. “I went out to eat.”

Luz squinted suspiciously at David; it was quite rare for Webster to go out to eat alone, and given neither Nixon or Luz had been invited, that left very few possibilities. “You went out to eat. Alone?”

“No.”

David didn’t elaborate, and instead began pulling out his books and his laptop, setting his work up on the table.

“Okay, I’ll bite. Who’d you go out with?” Webster’s cheeks warmed to a light red color as he flickered his gaze to his short roommate. For a few moments, Webster was silent as he tried to puzzle out how to respond to that question.

“Well, first of all, I didn’t go out with anyone.” He said at last, leaning back. “I invited a friend out to lunch.”

“You have friends besides me and Nix?”

David looked over at Luz, eyebrow raised. “Wow. You’re so funny, Luz.”

“Okay, okay.” Luz threw his hands up before narrowing his eyes, a thought seeming to occur to him. “Did you eat out with Martin?”

Webster’s heart skipped a beat and he had to fight to keep himself from averting his gaze. “It wasn’t Martin, no. Not that you have to say it like that, we’re friends.”

“No one is every really friends with their exes, David.” Luz said matter-of-factly. “I just don’t want you getting sucked back into that mess.”

“Fuck off, Luz.” Webster shot back, ears heating up. “You’ve never even had an ex boyfriend, just one night stands. Get off my dick.” Luz’s face sunk into a passive stare, but Webster could see the slightest twitch of George’s jaw. He’d hit a nerve with that comment. “Shit, that sounded awful, Luz, I’m-”

“-No, no, you’re right.” Luz cut David off before he could finish, and adopted his same sardonic grin. “So who was it, then? This  _ special  _ friend?”

Webster was feeling nicer now, especially considering he’d obviously touched on a sore spot with his earlier comment, so he gave a small smirk. “You know that dude who drove you home from the party over the weekend?”

“Yeah… tall, brown hair, right? Hot in a skinny mobster type of way?”

“Mhm.” Webster said, leaning forward. “We went out to that little, dingy sandwich place.”

Luz’s mouth parted, and not in the mock surprised way Webster was used to. He looked genuinely blown away by this information. “Let me get this straight.” He paused for dramatic effect. “You asked him out as  _ friends.  _ God damn it, Webster, you could have shot your shot and you went for it as a  _ friend. _ ”

“What if I want to just be friends, Luz?” Webster asked, folding his arms defensively. It was a stupid question to pose, given David definately did not want to just be friends. But he also didn’t want Luz to stand there, shaming him. “It’s not any different than my relationship with Martin.”

“Well that is a load of bullshit, David.” Luz said. He scowled, clearly considering his next words. “So you wouldn’t mind if I asked him out on a date? Liebgott, I mean.”

“I mean, you wouldn’t, but sure, go on.” David smiled cheekily, though he did wonder if Luz was being serious. “Your thing is more get drunk, get fucked, you know?”

“Web, you’re a horrible liar.” George said bluntly, turning to open the fridge. He pulled out a beer and turned back towards Webster. “Want one?”

“No, I’ll pass. I have work.”

“All right.” Luz said, closing the door again and going to grab the bottle opener. “Suit yourself, dumbass.”

“Look, I didn’t ask him out, get over it.” Webster groaned with a roll of his eyes. “No need to call me names.”

“Oh, no. I’m calling you a dumbass because you’re passing on the beer.” Luz said. “Really helps you get through your work.”

David laughed and shook his head. “Whatever, Luz. Get lost.”

“No problem, David.” Luz turned, the crack of the beer bottle opening sounding as he did so. Webster watched him wander into the living room and kept his eyes on Luz for a moment before turning back to the schoolwork he had laid out. 

• • •

The week had come and gone, the weekend rising up to greet David. The stretch between Monday and Friday had been long, the only eventful occurrence being going out to lunch with Joe. After that, the two talked in class and texted, and David found himself, admittedly, becoming attached to Liebgott. But Webster hadn’t bothered making any plans with the Art major. Partly because he didn’t want to push it and partly because he didn’t want to give Luz any more reason to tease him.

But it was Friday night now, and that meant two days of doing absolutely nothing but be at home with his two roommates, and truthfully, that was going to get old, fast. Better to delay the inevitable, right? So, casually, as the three lounged about doing nothing in particular, Webster looked up and cleared his throat. “I was thinking we could have a few people over tomorrow.”

Luz looked up, startled. Webster was never one for social events; he’d go to them sometimes, host them less often, and he never, not once, proposed one. After several moments of stunned silence, Nixon broke the quiet.

“Are you feeling all right, Web? Had too much to drink?”

Luz laughed at that but David just gave them a glare. “No, I’m serious. Not a big thing, just a few people. Pull out some beers, the Xbox, I don’t know. Just chill around since we survived the first week.”

“Actually.” Luz said, tilting his head in a curious manner. “That’s actually a good idea. I’d be down.”

Lewis shrugged. “As long as there’s beer.”

Webster grinned and leaned back in his seat, eyes flicking between the two. “Right, it’s settled then. Who do you guys want to have over? Not too many, mind you, I’m not looking to make this a huge thing.”

“Toye.” Luz said immediately. He paused and awkwardly rubbed the back of his neck, realizing how quickly he’d said that “I mean… Toye and Eugene, I guess. Malarkey could also be some fun.”

“I wanna have Skip over.” Nixon added. “Winters, too.”

“Great, can you guys text them or something. And if anyone else occurs to you, feel free to hit them up, just please let me know. I don’t want too many surprises.” Webster slid his phone from his pocket, but he didn’t go much further before Luz spoke.

“What about you, Webster?” His tone was accusatory. “Who’re you inviting?”

David’s voice was as casual as he could manage. “Oh, I was thinking about inviting Liebgott.”

“I thought you two were just friends.”

“We are.”

“Mhm. No different than you and Martin, you said.”

“What are you getting at Luz?” Webster sighed out, pinching the bridge of his nose.

“What I’m getting at-” Luz drawled, and David dreaded what was coming next, “-Is if you don’t like Liebgott, why not just invite Martin over, too?”

_ I am not going to take the bait. I am not going to take the bait. I am not going to take the bait. I am not going to-  _ “All right. I’ll invite Martin over, too. It’s no big deal.” David wanted to scream. He had fucking taken the bait, and Luz knew it.

That giant smirk on George’s face said it all, and Webster was tempted to slap that stupid grin off his face. The temptation only grew when Luz did the one thing worse than a smug smile; he opened his big, fat mouth. “Well, I look forward to seeing them here.”

“Yep.” Webster said tensely, unlocking his phone and trying his utmost best to avoid looking at Luz. “I do, too.” But all the while he couldn’t help but think what a fucking disaster he had gotten himself into. He’d much rather deal with Luz’s teasing than have to see his ex and Joe Liebgott in the same small apartment together. 

_ Let’s just pray Martin can’t come.  _


	5. Grumpy Ex-Boyfriends and Oblivious Crushes

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I had nooo motivation while writing this, so if its a bit awkward and rushed, I'm sorry.

The apartment was nosier than it usually was. In the living room, Luz, Toye, and Malarkey were playing Fifa, their loud shouts and aggressive clicking filling the small apartment. The rest were strewn about the kitchen and narrow hallway, most with beers in hand. Right now, David was leaning against a wall in the kitchen, talking with Liebgott and Roe. 

Well, maybe talking wasn’t the best way to describe what he was doing.

He was just listening. He was too nervous to talk.

His fingers tapped incessantly on the neck of his bottle as Liebgott and Roe spoke, clearly getting along well. Every so often, Webster would smile and laugh and nod along, but for the most part, he didn’t join in conversation.

“Web?” Liebgott’s voice pulled his attention to the two. “You all right?”

“What? Oh. Yeah.” Webster ran a hand through his hair. “I’m fine.”

“Sure about that? You seem distant.” Liebgott said, a small frown on his face.

Webster waved his hand. “No, no, I’m fine.” He wasn’t. He was nervous as hell, because at any moment, his ex boyfriend could show up, and all because David couldn’t just grow a pair. 

“Right. Right.” Joe smirked and rolled his eyes. “So, what are your plans when this is all over? College, that is.”

David shrugged. “Might go into publishing or copywriting. Grad school’s an option. I’d like to get a book published at some point. You guys?”

“Med school for me.” Roe said with a roll of his eyes. “It’s going to be so much fun.” He pursed his lips, blue gaze moving to Liebgott. “Joseph?”

Joe winced at the usage of his first name, and David’s lips twitched with amusement. “I’m going to move to New York. Get a run down studio apartment and sell my art. Drive a cab for some extra cash.”

“That’s a really specific plan.” Roe noted, smirking. “Any room for flexibility in there?”

“Maybe a little, it depends on-” A loud knocking at the front door interrupted Joe and Webster let out a sigh. There was only one person who wasn’t here yet, so unless that was a neighbor coming to complain, that meant Martin was here.

“I’ll be right back.” David murmured, slipping from the kitchen. He pulled the front door open, and sure enough, there Johnny Martin stood. His dark hair was neat as ever, but he was in casual clothing, something highly unusual for his ex. “Uhm. Hey. Come in.” David gestured for Martin to enter. 

“Thanks, David.” Martin said with a small smile before brushing past Webster. David swallowed hard, and offered Martin a tight-lipped smile.

“No problem.” He said, closing the door and sucking in a breath, trying to collect himself.

“So, Web, who’s this?”

David whipped around to find Joseph half-propped against the wall, eyes darting between the pair. “Oh, Liebgott, this is Martin. Martin, this is Joe Liebgott.”

Martin gave Liebgott a nod, lips forming the semblance of a rare smile. “Nice to meet you, Joe. Are you new around here?”

“Yeah.” Liebgott tilted his head slightly. “What gave it away?”

“I’ve known these guys for a little while, it’s rare for them to bring new people into the fold.” Martin gave Webster a look out of the corner of his eye and a quirk of his eyebrow. “Besides, just started seeing you around campus, I can usually recognize newer faces.”

“Ah, gotcha. That’s cool.” Was that… discomfort in Liebgott’s voice? There certainly was something a little off, Webster just couldn’t place his finger on it.

“So how did you two meet?” Martin glanced at David, then at Joseph. 

“Well.” Webster laughed, eyes flicking to Joe, who also seemed quite amused. “He dragged Luz and Nixon home after Guarnere’s party last week.”

“They were fucking disasters.” Joe chimed in.

“I bet they were. Must have been nice to not have to cart them home for once, huh, David?” 

“Guess so.” He said. “Didn’t have to worry about them hurling in my car.”

Martin let out an exasperated groan. “Joe, has he told you about his car?”

“No, not really. All I’ve heard is that he loves it.” 

“That’s the understatement of the year.” Martin began, folding his arms over his chest. “It’s a really nice 67 Ford Mustang. He painted it dark blue a while back, it used to be red though. He loves that thing more than life itself.”

Webster’s lips melded into a smirk. “He’s not wrong.” David ran a hand through his hair, an uncomfortable tension rising between the three. “You know what.” David said suddenly, skin crawling all of the sudden. “I’m going to go grab some water.”

He ducked out, leaving Martin and Liebgott standing there, talking about whatever the hell they wanted. The moment Webster entered the kitchen, he let out a breath of relief, the crawling sensation fading away. He set his beer on the table and grabbed a plastic cup, filling it up with water. Webster downed the water in a shocking amount of time before refilling it and repeating the process. He must have done this three of four times when a hand finally snatched his cup from him.

“Fuck, David, you’re going to drown yourself.” Martin said, setting the cup on the table. 

“That’s sorta the whole point.” David noted, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand. “Really fucking trippy having you here, you know.”

Martin slid next to David, casually propping himself against the counter behind the pair. “So why’d you invite me?”

“Why do you think?” Webster not-so-subtly shot a glare towards the living room, where Luz (currently shouting at Malarkey for being a dumbass and not being able to play goalie properly) sat. 

Johnny followed David’s gaze and nodded. “Makes sense.” He awkwardly paused, and David allowed himself to think that maybe Martin would leave. No such luck. “So you like that Joe kid, huh?”

“See, this is why I didn’t want to invite you.” Webster teased, bumping his elbow into Martin’s side. “Because I knew you were going to do this.”

“Asked him out yet?”

“God no.” David shook his head, eyes darting around to make sure Joe hadn’t snuck into the kitchen at some point. “What about you? How’s your romance life?”

“That’s really evasive, David.” Martin said, a chiding note in his voice.

Webster almost groaned; he had heard that tone far too much when they’d dated. “That’s the point. You don’t want to talk about your romance life, I don’t want to talk about mine. Can we move on?”

David didn’t have to look at Martin to know he was getting Johnny’s signature death glare, reserved especially for those who had particularly annoyed him. Which meant he’d won this argument, if it could even be called that.

“Fine.” Martin finally relented, and David allowed himself a prideful smile.

“Good.”

Webster snatched his beer from the table and left the kitchen, going straight into the living room, where Joe had apparently set up shop with the Fifa players. David settled onto the floor beside him, pretending to focus on the shockingly intense game, but he had other things on his mind.


End file.
